When the new Brooks Bridge arrives, what will you notice first? Probably not the shade structures or the 65 feet of clearance over the channel. More likely it will be the drive between downtown Fort Walton Beach and Okaloosa Island without a stop at the U.S. 98 and Santa Rosa Boulevard signal.

FDOT's project description says the new bridge will extend past that intersection, "allowing traffic to flow and eliminating the need for the traffic signal." At a Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce board meeting in late May, Chamber CEO Ted Corcoran said the first section of the new bridge, then about six months from opening, would bypass the Santa Rosa Boulevard light. He called it "an early indication of how the new bridge will move traffic through town."

That sets the order for the next two and a half years. Drivers get the new bridge first. The walking, cycling and park pieces come later, on a longer schedule.

The Deck Is Poured. The Switch Date Is Still Open.

On September 23, FDOT announced that crews had finished placing concrete for the deck of the new westbound Brooks Bridge. Much of that work happened at night, when cooler temperatures help concrete cure to spec. Before cars can use the bridge, crews still have to build the remaining bridge components, finish the roadway connections, and install barrier walls, drainage and lighting.

FDOT's announcement did not give a date for moving traffic onto the new structure. That September 23 report is the most recent shift update we found. The overnight lane changes that started September 8 were temporary work-zone shifts. They do not mean westbound traffic has moved to the new span.

The Projected Order of Changes

Ed Hudec oversees construction engineering inspection for FDOT on the project. In June, he gave the Chamber board the most detailed schedule published so far. These are projections, and FDOT's September 23 update gave no date for the first step:

1. Westbound traffic moves to the new bridge in "September or October."
2. Eastbound traffic follows six to eight weeks later, with all traffic on the new bridge by the end of the year.
3. Demolition of the 1966 span begins in early January. Hudec estimated six to nine months to saw the old bridge into pieces and barge them upriver, while foundation work continues on the new eastbound span.
4. The full project wraps up in early 2029. Hudec said the internal schedule shows late 2028, but FDOT is publicly giving the later date to leave room for holidays and weather.

The 2029 date replaces the summer 2027 completion FDOT was citing as recently as October 2025. According to Hudec, the contract has grown from 1,810 days to 2,109. Of the added days, 246 were holiday and weather days the original contract didn't count.

That leaves a long gap between the steps. Cars could be on new decks in both directions by the holidays. The project around them would still have roughly two more years to go.

What the Cars Get

The bridge that opened in 1966 has four lanes. FDOT puts traffic on this stretch of U.S. 98 at an average of 66,000 vehicles a day. Here is how the old crossing compares with the new one, using figures from FDOT and the June Chamber briefing:

Hudec said the current bridge is the lowest on the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway between Fort Walton Beach and New Orleans. Because of how the new structure was built, it carries an estimated 75-year life span, compared with 50 years for a standard bridge. He explained it this way:

"What you really got is a simplified suspension bridge, in effect."

On the island side, some of the new traffic pattern is already open. A new road called East Connection opened in October 2025, carrying one-way traffic from U.S. 98 to Santa Rosa Boulevard. When finished, it becomes a four-lane road linking Santa Rosa Boulevard with eastbound U.S. 98. Westbound drivers will be able to turn left onto it to reach Santa Rosa Boulevard south of the highway. A second road, North Connection, keeps access open after Santa Rosa Boulevard is rebuilt to pass under the new bridge. Removing the signal depends on that arrangement.

What Walkers and the Waterfront Wait For

The shared-use paths are the part of the design with the most community features. FDOT's plans call for a protected 12-foot path on each bridge, separated from traffic by barrier walls, with scenic overlooks and shade structures. The June briefing added benches and walkouts with displays about local sea life. It also said the bridge's decorative lighting will be set to avoid disturbing sea turtle nesting areas. An FDOT photo from May shows the westbound path as a narrow strip behind a concrete barrier, already part of the deck.

None of the sources we reviewed give an opening date for the path. FDOT also hasn't said whether pedestrians and cyclists move over when westbound cars do.

The park has an even longer wait. Brooks Bridge Waterfront Park sits directly under the bridge. It included shoreline restoration and stabilization, earlier improvements to the Alconese Avenue pier, and parking under the span. It closed the week of February 19, 2023, "for the duration" of construction. With the project now running to early 2029, that duration could reach about six years. We found no published reopening date or plan for the park after construction.

What Leaves by Barge

Under the June projection, demolition of the old span starts in early January, once all traffic is on the new bridge, and takes six to nine months. Fort Walton Beach has been planning for this for a long time. At the June meeting, Corcoran said FDOT first warned the city in the 1980s that the bridge was nearing the end of its 50-year design life. State Sen. Vince Bruner set up the Fort Walton Beach Bridge Authority in 1992, but no replacement decision followed. In 2005, the Emerald Coast Bridge Authority, chaired by Magnolia Grill owner Tom Rice, brought the City Council three options: extend Hollywood Boulevard to the island, route traffic over Wright Parkway, or replace the bridge where it stands. The council turned down all three.

The project picked up again in March 2013, after a barge with a raised ladder hit the bridge. Later that year, then-State Sen. Don Gaetz committed to funding a $300,000 study, and construction started ten years after that. "Our community has anticipated a new bridge for 40 years," Corcoran said.

The current span replaced an older drawbridge, shown in a Tichnor Brothers postcard dated circa 1930 to 1945. That postcard is part of a Daily News gallery of the bridge over the years. The same gallery shows Tempus Fugit, a mural Tamala Cusomano painted on the north side of the bridge in 2007. It traces the area's history from Native American settlements to the present. The sources we reviewed don't say what will happen to the mural during demolition.

The Fall Calendar Near the Bridge

The old span's last months on the skyline overlap with a busy stretch downtown. The City's free Friday night Concerts at The Landing, at 139 Brooks Street SE, run through October 23:

• October 9: Cat Rhodes & The Truth
• October 16: Chase Mitchell Band
• October 23: Rockstarfish

On Saturday, October 10, Downtown Fort Walton Beach and Sharing & Caring host a Zombie Walk Trick or Treat. On November 28, The Landing hosts the Holiday Market and the City's Light Up the Night tree lighting from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., according to Downtown FWB. If eastbound traffic moves six to eight weeks after westbound, as Hudec projected in June, the tree lighting could fall near the second switch. That depends on a westbound date that FDOT's September 23 update did not include.

Do you own on Okaloosa Island or near downtown and want to know how the finished bridge could change your property's picture? Ann Dempsey follows the Brooks Bridge milestones as FDOT announces them and can walk you through what they mean for your address. Request your free home valuation.